• The New York Times, Monday, June 6, 2011 12:32 PM

If and when Microsoft is allowed to buy Skype, what will it do with the Web-calling company? And how might the deal impact the state of Net neutrality at home and abroad? The New York Times, for one, doesn't have answers or either question. Some experts tell the NYT that Microsoft will likely intensify Skype's lobbying efforts in Europe, "providing a strong ally in a fight that could require European operators to open their networks to economic competitors."

Others, however, expect Microsoft to retreat, "either dropping Skype's critical line of argument in Brussels or striking a deal to share revenue with operators," as the newspaper explains. "Microsoft cares about Microsoft," says Jeff Pulver, a co-founder of Vonage, a U.S. Internet phone company that is a rival to Skype.

"I hope Microsoft uses Skype as a platform on which to innovate. I would hate to see it disappear." The NYT suggests that, "If Microsoft's $8.5 billion acquisition of Skype, the Internet communications company, goes through, supporters of network neutrality may be losing a standard-bearer."

Read the whole story at The New York Times »